In Another World, Everyone Want to Kill Me!-Chapter 276: The Mechanism Box

"Even if he did know, he wouldn’t tell you," Gongsun Xing said quietly. "A hostage prince shouldn’t know too much. Don’t ask so openly, it could bring trouble."

Yue Mingxuan nodded.

That was true.

If someone were to question how he knew about her, what would he say?

He certainly could not say, I opened Imperial Noble Consort Wan’s coffin.

That was a capital offense.

In the Royal Garden, Shang Qinghua was speaking with Mo Yi about something.

When he saw the two of them returning together, he frowned almost imperceptibly and lifted a hand, dismissing Mo Yi.

Delicate tea and pastries were arranged neatly on the stone table.

"I figured you should be back by now. Why were you out for so long?"

Yue Mingxuan leaned against the stone table for a moment, catching his breath before replying.

"Do I have to report everywhere I go to you? You already knew even without me saying it." Otherwise, why would he be waiting here?

Damn it, the tea was still warm.

"I’ll head back first. I’ll come over later. Don’t go to Piaoxiang Courtyard tonight."

"Mm. Got it."

After Gongsun Xing left, only Yue Mingxuan and Shang Qinghua remained.

Yue Mingxuan was exhausted; he sprawled over the table and began eating the pastries.

Shang Qinghua watched him.

"Where did you run off to play this time?"

Yue Mingxuan glared at him, his catlike eyes bright.

"Play? I was handling serious business, all right! Oh, right, do you know of a consort called Consort Wan? I don’t know her birth or death years, just that title."

The inside of the coffin had the characters "Imperial Noble Consort Wan" written there in elegant script, clearly penned by a woman’s hand.

For some reason, after so many years, the ink had not faded.

Shang Qinghua frowned and shook his head, indicating he did not know.

"Which country’s consort? Why are you asking about her?"

Yue Mingxuan recounted the entire sequence of events.

Shang Qinghua’s expression changed instantly.

Was this man truly unafraid of ghosts clinging to him?

He had actually gone to the rear mountain mausoleum for the third time.

Had everything he said before gone in one ear and out the other?

He shot Yue Mingxuan a dark look. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

In the middle of eating, Yue Mingxuan suddenly choked on a bite of pastry.

Shang Qinghua sighed, poured him some water, and patted his back.

"I went to look for the method to open that mechanism box! And honestly, that Imperial Noble Consort Wan was really beautiful, no, not just beautiful, unbelievably beautiful. I haven’t seen anyone prettier even now! It’s just that she had a tear mole. Her life must have been miserable."

"Did you find the method?" Shang Qinghua reminded him.

That was the important matter.

Yue Mingxuan tilted his head back, one corner of his lips lifting.

"When I take action, is there anything I can’t accomplish? It was just an unlocking method. Once I removed her outer garments, it was easy to obtain."

Shang Qinghua: "..."

Rarely did he react like this.

Shang Qinghua blinked his eyes slowly, took a deep breath, then asked carefully,

"You’re saying... you removed the clothes... of a consort who’s been dead for many years...? Yue Mingxuan!"

Yue Mingxuan turned his head to look as well.

After finishing an entire plate of pastries, his stomach no longer felt quite so empty. He nodded and said, "Of course. Otherwise how would I know how to open the mechanism box?"

He wiped the corner of his lips, then fixed his gaze on Shang Qinghua.

The latter had already regained his composure, anyone who stayed at Yue Mingxuan’s side had to cultivate courage first.

"Enough about that for now," Shang Qinghua said. "Do you know how to open the mechanism box or not?"

Yue Mingxuan nodded, he then rose to his feet, brushed off the hem of his robe, and flashed Shang Qinghua a grin so wide his eyes curved shut.

"Come on. Let’s go witness a miracle."

As it turned out, the four lions on the mechanism box had to be melted down.

No one knew how the method of unlocking it had ended up inscribed across Consort Wan’s back, but placing it there was far safer than hiding it inside the body.

After all, not everyone had the nerve to strip the garments from a woman who had been dead for many years.

He and Shang Qinghua melted the gilded lions together and revealing four interlocking buttons at the corners beneath.

Yue Mingxuan carefully wiped them clean before pressing them open.

Inside lay a sheepskin scroll.

He did not quite understand why a consort in the imperial palace would possess such a thing, but now was hardly the time to dwell on that.

The martial arts manual written on it was even more detailed than the carvings on the wall.

He studied it for a long while, yet could not determine what style of martial art it was.

When he turned to look at Shang Qinghua, the latter also shook his head, he was unfamiliar with it.

"At least among the martial arts I know, I’ve never seen this before," Shang Qinghua said. "Are you certain you want to practice it?"

After examining it at length, Yue Mingxuan had already made up his mind.

Since fate had allowed him to discover it, there had to be a reason.

How could he simply discard what had fallen into his hands?

A martial arts manual delivered straight to himz there was no way he would pass it on to someone else.

"Yes. I want to learn it. But I don’t quite understand it," he admitted. "Your Highness, could you guide me from the side? From what Gongsun Xing and I deduced, Consort Wan reached the final stage and then suffered a deviation in her internal energy. I’ve gone over the steps on this scroll again and again, but I can’t figure out where she went wrong. Just in case... what do you think?"